The Evolution of Jesus and the New Testament
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- Created on Sunday, 05 May 2013 06:38
- Published on Sunday, 05 May 2013 06:38
- Written by John Draper
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The story of Jesus 2000 years ago is accepted by Christians as factual - but it's more likely he's a legend. That is, someone who existed but whose life is not like the stories we are told. Just consider the evolution of the documents that are supposed to tell his story. The first books written (in the New Testament) were by Paul - a chronology is here. Although his first letter to the Thessalonians was written over 20 years after the death of Jesus in 52 AD, you'd expect him to document the relatively recent amazing events of the miracles of Jesus, his resurrection and his virgin mother. But no, all his letters talk about are the teachings of Jesus and the vague statement that he was the "son of God". He does mention that he "died for us" and performed "miracles and wonders and signs" (Acts 2.22 - written no earlier than ~AD 60) but gave no details.
Read more: The Evolution of Jesus and the New Testament
The real story of Jesus
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- Created on Friday, 03 May 2013 06:43
- Published on Friday, 03 May 2013 06:43
- Written by John Draper
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If you want to know what the person called Jesus in the Bible was really like and what he really did, you have to do a lot of study of ancient history. It helps to study things like the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Gnostic texts and one person who did that was William Hopper.
He liked to write in a light tone so that his books would have popular appeal - hence the title of his book "The Heathen's Guide to World Religions". It got to a 6th edition in 2003 - and a 7th electronic edition has since been published (his site here). Hopper quotes his sources so it's not just light entertainment and I highly recommend it. His book is the source of the facts in this article.
Gay Marriage and Politicians
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- Created on Wednesday, 01 May 2013 06:47
- Published on Wednesday, 01 May 2013 06:56
- Written by John Draper
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Politicians worldwide seem to get their "knickers in a knot" over gay marriage. Some think it is contrary to God's commandments and that allowing it would bring on the virtual end of the world as we know it. Gradually, the majority of politicians are seeing the light and allowing anyone - gay or not - the right to embrace the institution of marriage. Like any other social issue, the views of the public change with time and the time is right to recognise this change too.
Politicians are usually dry and humourless - but they are not all like that. New Zealand MP Maurice Williamson certainly has a sense of humour, is not gay himself and is very supportive of equal rights. This video deserves to go viral and is already well on the way to that.
Lying is not always wrong, or is it?
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- Created on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 06:16
- Published on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 06:16
- Written by John Draper
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There are some things that most people agree are unethical - like lying. If you are an atheist, you will probably not want to lie to your children about the existence of god. You'll probably talk about what you believe and what others believe and you won't actually say "God does not exist". However, Christians (and Muslims) will usually say to their children - and anyone else who will listen - "God exists and is good etc". So we would say that they are at least stretching the truth because they cannot actually prove what they say. They have confused the concepts of belief and facts. The same Christians would agree that lying is wrong - so why do they tell children that there is an Easter Bunny? And also that there is a tooth fairy and that there is a Santa Claus? Is lying sometimes OK?
Canadian Muslims: A Plea to West
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- Created on Sunday, 28 April 2013 21:54
- Published on Sunday, 28 April 2013 21:54
- Written by Salim Mansur
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The weeding out of Islamism inside the West is the essential prerequisite in defeating the global jihad.
By Raheel Raza and Salim Mansur
Re-published from the original on Muslims Facing Tomorrow - There are Muslims who understand - hopefully Raheel and Salim represent the majority. In any event, their comments are important in understanding the Muslim Terrorist problem. - Cobourg Atheist.
Wed, April 24, 2013: The recent discovery of a terrorist plot to do a mass terror attack on a Via Rail passenger train out of Toronto by two Islamists, and their intent interdicted by joint Canadian and U.S. security agencies, eerily followed the hunt and capture of the two Chechen brothers — Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — involved in carrying out the Boston bombing.
Does religion really provide comfort?
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- Created on Thursday, 25 April 2013 06:38
- Published on Thursday, 25 April 2013 06:38
- Written by John Draper
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Atheists are often told - leave the religious alone, it gives them comfort. But does it? The implication is that in hard times, religious people are happier than atheists - they are happy to accept their fate because god wills it. In the time of their biggest trauma, when they know they are dying, you'd think they would be happy to die since they are going to a better life. But The Journal of the American Medical Association reports otherwise. A study in 2009 showed that: "Terminally ill cancer patients who relied on their religious faith to help them cope with their disease were more likely to receive aggressive medical care during their last week of life."
The study did not identify a reason for this but one possibility is that they have faith that their prayers will be answered with a miracle and they are not really dying. However, if they are truly religious, they will know that "God does not work like that". (Although I would say, "zero chance of a miracle").
Why is an explanation always needed?
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- Created on Saturday, 27 April 2013 06:22
- Published on Saturday, 27 April 2013 06:22
- Written by John Draper
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One of the major reasons given for the existence of God is that he is needed to explain where we came from. Not just the existence of the Universe but also the existence of life and mankind. He is also used to explain complexity – the old watchmaker story (more in graphic below). But stop and think a minute. Why is any explanation needed? OK, so it’s a human characteristic which surfaces around the age of 4 when we start asking “why”. Parents usually go along with this but will often finally say “Because I said so”. This instills in us the concept that there is an answer for every “why” question even if it’s an authority figure who decrees what it is. So it’s natural when we get a little older to accept that the priest/minister or perhaps the holy book has all the answers.
Lawrence Krauss on Q&A - Science vs Religion
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- Created on Tuesday, 23 April 2013 06:18
- Published on Tuesday, 23 April 2013 06:18
- Written by John Draper
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Lawrence Krauss is getting more visibility as a speaker and atheist activist. On Feb 18, 2013, he appeared on the Australian TV program Q&A (produced by the Australian Broadcasting Commission) and the subject was Science versus Religion. The program is a panel set up for questions from the public and it covered a number of issues including Lawrence's specialty "Something from nothing". That's a favourite reason given by Christians for why there must be a God. It's difficult to explain in a few minutes but Lawrence gave it a try. One notable thing about the program was that the Christian representative was a strong supporter of Science but tried to position Christianity as providing additional insight and answers. It was noticeable that no-one contradicted Krauss like Cardinal Pell tried to do against Richard Dawkins in a similar situation (More here). I couldn't help thinking that Australian Christians, like most of them in Canada, are a lot more rational than the strident American Christians. At least they accept that being rational is important.
